The  Lower  Criticism  of  the  Old 
Testament  as  a  Preparation  for 
THE  Higher   Criticism. 

Inaugural  Address  of  the 
Rev.  Robert  Dick  Wilson,  Ph.D,,  D.D., 
as  Professor  of  Semitic  Philology  and 
Old  Testament  Criticism. 


PRINCETON    theological 
SEMINARY. 


BSllfcO 
VT54- 


SEPTEMBER   21,   1900. 


/.    ;  /  •  O  I 


^  PRINCETON,  N.  J.  Sy 


Section. .M..y/...*1  h  4 


INAUGURATION 


The  Rev.  Professor  Robert  Dick  Wilson. 

PH.D.,    D.D., 


PROFESSOR  OF 
SEMITIC  PHILOLOGY  AND  OLD  TESTAMENT  CRITICISM 


THE   THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 

OF   THE   PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH 

PRINCETON,  NEW  JERSEY 

SEPTEMBER  21,  1900 


PRINCETON,    N.    J. 

C.    S.    ROBINSON   4   CO.,    UNIVERSITY    PRINTERS 

I9OI 


PREFATORY  NOTE. 


The  Rev.  Robert  Dick  Wilson,  Ph.D.,  D.D.,  was 
elected  Professor  of  Semitic  Philology  and  Biblical  Crit- 
icism in  the  Theological  Seminary  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  at  Princeton,  New  Jersey,  at  the  Spring  meeting 
of  the  Board  of  Directors,  May  7,  1900.  He  was  form- 
ally inducted  into  his  chair  on  Friday,  September  21, 
1900,  at  II  A.  M.  The  order  of  exercises  on  this  occasion 
was  as  follows,  the  Rev.  George  D.  Baker,  D.D.,  Vice- 
President  of  the  Board  of  Directors,  presiding: 

Opening  Hymn   (St.  Anne) 

How  glorious  art  thou,  O  our  God ! 

'Tis  Thou  and  Thou  alone 
Who  dwellest  in  Thy  people's  praise, 

On  Thine  eternal  throne. 

From  Charran  and  Chaldean  Ur, 

The  River's  banks  along, 
From  Canaan's  heights  and  Egypt's  sands, 

Arose  the  constant  song, — 

From  all  the  towns  that  stud  the  hills 

Of  teeming  Galilee, 
From  marts  of  Greece  and  misty  lands 

Beyond  the  Western  Sea. 

How  many  voices,  diff'ring  tongues. 

Harmonious,  join  to  raise 
To  Thee,  O  Rock  of  Israel, 

Accumulated  praise ! 

Fain  would  we  catch  the  accents  strange. 

Fain  train  our  ears  to  hear 
The  notes  that  hymn  Thee,  through  the  years, 

O  Israel's  Hope  and  Fear ! 

'Twas  thou  didst  teach  thy  sons  of  old 

Thy  varied  laud  to  sing, 
School  Thou  our  hearts  that  we  may  too 

Our  hallelujahs  bring. 

How  glorious  art  Thou,  O  our  God ! 

How  mighty  past  compare  ! 
Thou  dwellest  in  Thy  people's  praise, — 

Accept  the  praise  we  bear. 

£.  B.   War  field,  D.D.,  LL.D. 


iv  Prefatory  Note. 

Scriptural  Reading 
The  Rev.  George  D.  Baker,  D.D. 

Prayer 
The  Rev.  Samuel  T.  Lowrie.  D.D. 

Subscription  to  the  Pledge  by  the  Professor  Elect 

The  Charge  to  the  Professor 
The  Rev.  Marcus  A.  Brownson,  D.D. 

The  Inaugural  Address 

"  The  Lower  Criticism  of  the  Old  Testament  as  a  Preparation  for  the 

Higher  Criticism^ 

The  Rev.  Professor  Robert  Dick  Wilson,  Ph.D.,  D.D. 

Closing   Hymn   (Austrian  Hymn) 

Glory  to  Thee,  Lord  of  Glor>',  for  Thy  saints  at  rest  above, 
Where  the  .sky  of  heaven  o'erarches  heaven's  great  Paradise  of  love ; 
There  the  Blessed  reign  and  serve  Thee,  praise  Thee  all  tlie  eternal  day, 
Thee  beholding  in  Thy  beauty  in  that  country  far  away. 

Praise  to  Thee  for  all  who  trust  Thee,  through  the  night  of  toil  and  loss, 
All  who  live,  themselves  denying,  carrying  every  day  the  cross. 
All  the  great  Vine's  genial  branches,  rich  and  living  in  their  Root, 
Bearing  in  the  alien  desert  heavenly  Eden's  clustered  fruit. 

Praise  to  Thee  for  acts  and  sufferings  ;  for  the  conquests  of  the  strong, 
Youthful  ardor,  veteran  courage,  marching  forward  far  and  long  ; 
Praise  to  Thee  in  all  for  all  things  ;  Thou  art  working  all  in  all ; 
Filled  with  Thee  the  faint  are  mighty,  void  of  Thee  the  mighty  fall. 

All  the  grace  of  all  Thy  people,  all  their  triumph  in  the  strife, — 
'Tis  but  Thou   Redeemer,  in  them,  moving  in  Thy  glorious  life  : 
Sing  we  till  our  praises  mingle  with  the  song  before  the  throne. 
Glory  to  the  Lord  of  Glory  for  Himself  in  men  made  known. 

Handley  C.    G.   Moule,   D.D. 

Intimations  and  Notices 
President  of  the  Faculty 

Doxology  and  Benediction 


PRAYER 


THE    REV.   SAMUEL   T.   LOWRIE,    D.D. 


PRAYER. 


O  Lord  God,  our  hearts  rejoice  in  Thee,  because  we 
rejoice  in  Thy  salvation.  For  Thou  art  holy;  for  there 
is  none  beside  Thee,  neither  is  there  any  rock  like  our 
God.  Thou  art  a  God  of  knowledge,  and  by  Thee 
actions  are  weighed.  Thou  makest  poor  and  makest 
rich;  Thou  bringest  low  and  liftest  up;  for  the  pillars 
of  the  earth  are  the  Lord's,  and  He  hath  set  the  world 
upon  them.  Thou  wilt  keep  the  feet  of  Thy  saints;  for 
by  strength  shall  no  man  prevail. 

Blessed  be  the  Lord,  the  God  of  Israel;  for  He  hath 
visited  and  wrought  redemption  for  His  people,  and  hath 
raised  up  salvation  for  us  in  the  house  of  His  servant 
David,  as  He  spake  by  the  mouth  of  His  holy  prophets 
since  the  world  began.  Thou  hast  remembered  Thy 
holy  covenant,  to  give  knowledge  of  salvation  unto  Thy 
people  in  the  remission  of  their  sins;  because  of  the 
tender  mercy  of  our  God,  whereby  the  da3^-spring  from 
on  high  shall  visit  us,  to  shine  upon  them  that  sit  in 
darkness  and  the  shadow  of  death ;  to  guide  our  feet  in 
the  way  of  peace.  Now  unto  the  King  of  the  ages,  incor- 
ruptible, invisible,  only  God,  be  honor  and  glory  to  ages 
of  ages. 

We  supplicate,  O  God,  on  behalf  of  this  Theological 
Seminary,  that  in  everything  it  may  be  enriched  in  every 
word  and  in  all  knowledge  in  Christ  Jesus,  so  as  to  come 
behind  in  no  gift,  and  that  while  we  wait  for  the  revela- 
tion of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  it  may  be  confirmed  by 
Him  unto  the  end.  Let  the  spirit  of  the  Lord  be  here  as 
liberty,  that  all  who  come  to  be  made  sufficient  ministers 
of  the  new  covenant  of  the  Spirit  that  giveth  light,  may, 


viii  Prayer. 

with  unveiled  face  reflecting  as  a  mirror  the  glory  of  the 
Lord,  be  transformed  into  the  same  image  from  glory  to 
glory.  Thou  that  saidst:  Light  shine  out  of  darkness, 
shine  in  our  hearts  to  give  the  light  of  the  knowledge  of 
the  glory  of  God  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ. 

O  God,  who  hast  given  unto  us  the  sure  word  of 
prophecy  that  came  by  men  who  spake  from  God  being 
moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  cause  the  Directors  of  this 
Seminary  to  take  heed  thereto,  as  unto  a  lamp  shining  in 
a  dark  place  until  the  day  dawn  and  day  star  arise  in 
our  hearts.  Make  them  diligent  to  have  these  things  at 
every  time  called  to  remembrance,  and  enable  them  to 
set  as  teachers  in  this  school  of  prophets  men  that  have 
renounced  the  hidden  things  of  shame,  and  that  walk  not 
in  craftiness,  nor  handle  the  Word  of  God  deceitfully, 
but  by  manifestation  of  the  truth  commend  themselves  to 
every  man's  conscience  in  the  sight  of  God. 

On  behalf  of  the  Professors  and  Instructors,  we 
beseech  Thee,  O  God,  that  as  they  have  received  the 
word,  so  Thou  wouldst  cause  them  to  continue  stedfastly 
in  the  apostles'  teaching,  and  in  fellowship  and  prayers. 
Cause  them  to  know  how  men  ought  to  behave  themselves 
in  the  house  of  God  which  is  the  church  of  the  living  God, 
the  pillar  and  ground  of  the  truth :  and  make  them  able 
teachers  of  the  same,  that  the  ministers  trained  by  them 
may  be  men  that  strive  not  about  words  to  the  subvert- 
ing of  them  that  hear,  but  present  themselves  approved 
unto  God,  workmen  that  need  not  be  ashamed,  handling 
aright  the  word  of  God. 

We  beseech  Thee,  O  God,  for  him  w^ho  at  this  time 
is  to  be  separated  unto  teaching  the  gospel  of  God,  which 
Thou  promisedst  afore  through  the  prophets  in  the  Holy 
Scripture  concerning  Thy  Son,  who  was  born  of  the  seed 
of  David,  who  was  declared  to  be  the  Son  of  God  with 
power  according  to  the  spirit  of  holiness  by  the  resurrec- 


Prayer.  ix 

tion  of  the  dead.  Grant  that  when  handling  this  word  of 
prophecy  he  may  not  be  ashamed  of  the  gospel,  but  may 
set  it  forth  as  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation  to  every 
one  that  believeth.  And  because  at  this  time  there  are 
many  teachers  who  are  foolish  men  and  slow  of  heart  to  be- 
lieve in  all  that  the  prophets  have  spoken,  may  the  spirit  of 
Christ,  beginning  from  Moses  and  all  the  prophets,  inter- 
pret to  him  in  all  the  Old  Testament  scriptures  the  things 
concerning  Christ.  Make  him  able  to  teach  the  rising 
ministry  that  what  was  there  written  was  written  for  their 
learning,  that  through  comfort  of  the  Scriptures  they 
might  have  hope. 

Be  pleased,  O  God,  to  cause  the  whole  body  of  stu- 
dents of  divinity  in  this  Seminary,  and  all  that  succeed 
them,  to  be  of  the  same  mind  one  with  another  according 
to  Jesus  Christ,  that  they  may  with  one  mouth  glorify 
the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Fill  them 
with  all  joy  and  peace  in  believing,  that  they  may  abound 
in  hope,  in  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Have  mercy  upon  us  according  to  Thy  loving  kind- 
ness, and  forgive  all  our  iniquities.  Help  us  at  this  time 
to  worship  Thee  acceptably.  Approve  and  bless  what 
we  now  do  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord;  to 
Whom,  with  the  Father  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  we  would 
give  all  the  glory,  now  and  forever.     Amen. 


THE  CHARGE 


THE  REV.   MARCUS  A.   BROWNSON,    D.D. 


CHARGE. 


My  Dear  Brother: 

Representing  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Sem- 
inary, I  am  to  speak  a  few  words  to  you  as  a  charge, 
upon  your  inauguration  to  the  Chair  of  Semitic  Phil- 
ology and  Old  Testament  Criticism.  How  gladly  I 
do  this,  you  know  full  well.  Our  close  fellowship  dur- 
ing our  student  days,  in  another  School  of  the  Prophets, 
amid  scenes  too  sweet  and  too  sacred  ever  to  be  for- 
gotten or  set  aside,  causes  me,  at  this  hour,  to  rejoice 
greatly  in  the  new  honor  which  has  come  to  you. 

The  Old  Testament  Scriptures,  and  the  languages 
and  the  literatures  throwing  light  upon  the  interpreta- 
tion of  them,  have  been  your  earnest,  eager  study,  from 
the  time  of  your  entrance  upon  your  Seminary  course, 
on  through  your  postgraduate  course,  and  study  abroad, 
and  in  your  work  as  an  Instructor  and  a  Professor  in 
your  Theological  Alma  Mater,  at  Allegheny. 

It  is  a  congenial  task  to  which  3^ou  have  been  sum- 
moned here,  and  one  for  which,  in  the  judgment  of  the 
Board  of  Directors,  you  have  made  particular  and  ple- 
nary preparation.  The  directors  also  feel  assured  that, 
in  you,  they  shall  have  a  teacher  of  the  Old  Testament 
whose  criticism  of  the  Scriptures  will  be  unreservedly 
reverent,  howsoever  scrutinizing,  and  that  all  your  re- 
search and  teaching  will  be  from  the  view-point  of  abso- 
lute and  unconditional  belief  in  the  full  and  perfect 
inspiration  of  the  entire  Scriptures,  and  of  a  cordial  and 
continuing  acceptance  of  that  system  of  faith  and  practice 
set  forth  in  the  Confession  of  Faith,  Catechisms,  Form  of 
Government  and  Discipline  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 


xiv  Charge. 

in  the  United  States  of  America.  With  these  gratify- 
ing assurances,  and  with  gladness  and  hope,  they  have 
committed  this  sacred  trust  to  your  hands. 

I  shall  not  presume  to  offer  specific  suggestions  to 
you,  concerning  the  method  of  your  work  in  the  class- 
room, or  the  measure  of  contributions  to  the  literature  of 
your  department  of  theological  thought  which  you  may 
send  forth  from  your  pen.  Your  record  as  a  Professor 
gives  abundant  hope  of  efficiency  in  instruction  and  of 
proficienc}'  in  production  to  enrich  current  theological 
literature.  But  I  do  desire  to  emphasize,  and  to  charge 
you  to  keep  ever  before  your  mind  in  your  work,  the 
fundamental,  and  at  the  same  time  the  ultimate,  ideas  of 
a  Theological  Seminary,  the  controlling  conceptions  of 
what  a  Theological  Seminary  —  this  Theological  Sem- 
inary—  really  is,  and  to  remind  you  what  the  Church 
expects  of  her  theological  teachers. 

To  many  minds,  a  Theological  Seminary  is  a  citadel 
for  the  defoice  of  Bible  truth;  and,  in  this  view.  Theo- 
logical Professors  are,  for  the  most  part,  to  give  their 
time  and  efforts  to  the  exegetical,  historical,  metaphysi- 
cal, logical  exposition  and  maintenance  of  the  system  of 
truth  revealed  in  the  Scriptures  and  illustrated  in  the 
development  of  the  Church,  and  embodied  in  her  creeds 
and  confessions,  in  order  that  they  may  defend  the  truth 
of  God  revealed,  by  sending  forth  defenders,  fully 
equipped  to  disarm  and  destroy  error,  thoroughly  qual- 
ified to  beat  back  each  new  attack  upon  what  God  hath 
given  into  the  sacred  keeping  of  His  Church  for  the 
benefit  of  the  world.  This  is  certainly  a  true  concep- 
tion of  what  a  Theological  Seminary  is,  or  ought  to  be. 
Full  knowledge,  exact  information,  perfect  understand- 
ing of  truth  revealed  and  of  error  devised,  so  far 
as  it  is  possible  to  know  truth  and  error,  are  neces- 
sary  to   the   intellectual  furnishing   of    men  who  are   to 


Charge.  xv 

speak  officially  of  things  divine.  In  our  time,  more  than 
in  any  time  preceding,  ample  scholarship  is  a  prime 
requirement  of  the  pulpit.  The  remark  is  too  trite  to 
be  elaborated.  Yet  this  must  not  be  forgotten — that  the 
man  who  preaches  to  intelligent  people  must  know,  must 
knozu  more  than  his  people  know ;  must  be  able  to  en- 
large, correct,  clarify  their  knowledge  of  that  which  is  spir- 
itual and  ethical.  Makers  of  ministers  must,  therefore, 
give  to  their  pupils,  or,  at  the  least,  must  show  them  where 
to  find,  and  how  to  find,  the  knowledge  that  is  the  de- 
fence of  the  truth  which  they  will  declare.  Teachers  must 
awaken  within  their  students  the  enthusiasm  of  scholar- 
ship, the  intense  thirst,  the  craving  hunger  for  Biblical, 
spiritual  knowledge  which  will  require  life-long  portions 
of  scholarly  acquisitions  to  satisfy.  Acquiring  minds  can 
best  defend  assured  beliefs. 

No  Church  in  Christendom  has  made  so  much  of 
Christian  scholarship  as  our  own,  and  none  welcomes 
actual  truth  more  gladly,  and  is  more  eager  to  have 
her  coming  ministry  fully  furnished  with  all  known  and 
knowable  facts  and  doctrines  written  in  the  errorless 
Scriptures,  or  clearly  deducible  therefrom.  Nor  does 
any  other  branch  of  the  Church  of  Christ  desire  her 
theological  teachers,  who  are  experts  in  doctrine  — 
Superior  Judges  in  the  trial  of  theories  and  opinions  con- 
cerning religious  truth — ;  nor  does  any  other  branch  of 
the  Church  of  Christ  desire  her  theological  teachers  to 
have  larger  liberty  of  investigation. 

The  Church,  indeed,  defines  liberty.  Liberty  is  the 
privilege  to  do  what  is  right  to  be  done  —  to  teach  what 
is  known  to  be  true.  Liberty  has  its  controlling  laws. 
Great  as  is  the  human  mind,  and  free  as  it  undoubtedly 
is,  it  is  not  great  enough,  nor  can  it  claim  a  freedom  so 
irresponsible,  to  think  or  pronounce  imperfect  what 
God  has  declared  to  be  "  true  and  righteous  altogether." 


xvi  Charge. 

Belief  in  a  defective  Bible  is  no  part  of  intellectual  free- 
dom. And  in  the  oft-uttered  and  strongly-emphasized 
declaration  that  the  Bible,  freed  from  the  errors  of  trans- 
cribers and  translators,  and  as  it  came  from  God,  is  with- 
out error,  no  restraint  is  put  on  reverent  scholarship. 
It  is  not  necessary  to  talk  boastfully  of  "the  faith  that 
cannot  be  put  into  creeds,"  or  of  "the  word  of  God 
behind  the  Bible,"  in  order  to  assert  one's  independence 
of  mind.  Scholarship,  the  profoundest,  the  loftiest,  the 
widest,  the  ripest,  causing  all  languages  and  literatures, 
all  precepts  and  principles,  all  faiths  and  philosophies,  to 
pay  tribute  to  the  Lord  God  of  truth  and  righteousness, 
is  welcome  in  the  Theological  Schools  of  our  Church. 

Your  own  branch  of  theological  science  illustrates 
the  regard  of  the  Church  for  scholarship.  So  important 
is  the  study  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  of  all  that  can 
throw  light  upon  its  contents,  that  two  professors  and 
one  instructor,  in  this  Seminary,  are  to  continue  to  give 
their  entire  time  to  this  subject.  The  division  of  the 
department  into  two  chairs  will  be  maintained. 

No  nobler  scholars  can  be  pointed  out,  in  the  history 
of  the  Christian  Church  of  America,  than  those  men  of 
God  who  have  preceded  you,  and  your  closest  associate 
of  the  Faculty,  in  the  Old  Testament  Department.  The 
traditions  of  the  Old  Testament  Department  of  this  Sem- 
inary are  without  parallel  in  any  Theological  School  of 
our  land.  Professor  Davis  has  recently  shown  how  Dr. 
Joseph  Addison  Alexander,  with  thirty  languages  at  his 
command,  created  the  Department  of  Oriental  and  Bibli- 
cal Literature,  and  gave  to  it  an  international  reputation; 
and  how  Dr.  Green,  in  his  "  Unity  of  Genesis,"  gave 
the  final  answer,  from  a  literary  point  of  view,  to  the 
divisive  criticism  of  the  Pentateuch ;  and  how,  also,  to 
him  belongs  the  distinguished  honor  of  having  vindicated 
the   scholarliness  of    conservative    higher    criticism    that 


Charge.  xvii 

believes  the  Bible  to  be  absolutely  and  without  qualifica- 
tion the  veritable  Word  of  God;  and  how,  "more  than 
any  man's,  during  this  last  quarter  of  the  Nineteenth  Cen- 
tury, it  was  his  to  rally,  steady  and  inspirit  the  Church 
under  the  shock  of  a  sudden  and  mighty  assault  upon  the 
trustworthiness  of  the  Scriptures." 

Such  traditions  must  ever  shape  the  study  and  influ- 
ence the  teaching  of  those  who  follow  scholars  so  illus- 
trious, and  carry  forward  the  great  tasks  begun  by  them, 
but  limited  in  execution  by  the  limitations  of  human  life. 

You  will  bring  to  bear  upon  the  exposition  of  the 
Old  Testament  Scriptures  your  linguistic,  achasological, 
historical,  literary  attainments.  But  the  Scriptures  will 
be  the  centre  and  source  of  your  scholarly  teaching. 

You  will  ever  see,  and  make  your  pupils  see, 

"  A  glory  gild  the  sacred  page 
Majestic  as  the  sun." 

It  will  be  the  glory  of  God  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ; 
and  the  Bible  is  the  double  mirror  that,  to  the  seeing 
eye  and  to  the  face  unveiled,  reflects  the  form  of  the 
Redeemer.  "  We  all  with  unveiled  face  beholding  ?iS  in  a 
mirror  the  glory  of  the  Lord."  This  is  the  older  and 
closer  rendering  of  Paul's  famous  words,  and  the  mirror, 
as  the  context  teaches,  is  the  Pentateuch,  and  "  the  Gospel 
of  the  Glory  " — the  older  and  the  later  Scriptures. 

You  doubtless  remember  with  interest  the  Rospig- 
liosi  Palace  at  Rome,  and  the  beautiful  Aurora,  painted 
upon  the  ceiling  of  its  principal  room,  by  Guido  Reni.  It 
would  be  difficult,  wellnigh  impossible,  to  see  the  full 
beauty  of  the  picture  without  the  aid  of  the  mirror  which 
brings  it  down  before  the  eye  in  an  easy  and  natural 
posture.  But,  with  the  mirror,  one  can  see,  at  his  leisure, 
and  can  examine  minutely,  the  beautiful  Apollo  in  his  car 
of  gold,  drawn  by  his  prancing  steeds,  and  attended  by 


xviii  Charge. 

the  shining  hours,  as  the  god  of  the  day  enters  the  east- 
ern gate,  flung  open  by  Aurora's  hand,  to  fill  and  flood 
the  earth  with  sunshine,  and  to  gild  and  redden  the 
clouds  of  the  morning,  letting  the  glory  of  the  celestial 
country  in  upon  the  land  where  mortals  dwell. 

So  the  mirror  of  the  Scriptures,  in  the  double  picture 
by  prediction  and  by  history,  to  Spirit-taught  souls, 
brings  the  glory  of  the  Christ  of  God  before  our  eyes, 
and  we  readily  see  what  could  not  otherwise  be  seen — 
the  image  of  the  invisible  God  —  not  a  reflection  of  a 
shadowy  Christ,  with  genial  and  idyllic  beauty,  apt  to 
fade  away  with  changing  moods  of  mind  and  in  altered 
experiences  of  life;  but  the  eternal  Christ,  "the  same 
yesterday,  to-day  and  forever."  And  Him  we  see  as 
often  as  we  take  the  Book  and  the  Spirit  opens  the  seals 
thereof. 

Whatever  light,  by  means  of  your  learning,  may  fall 
upon  the  mirror  of  the  Scriptures,  will  be  of  inestimable 
value  to  your  students  and  to  all  others  to  whom  they  in 
time  shall  preach. 

There  is  another  conception  of  a  Theological  Seminary, 
equally  important.  This  is  not  exclusive  of  the  one  already 
named,  but  part  and  parcel  of  it.  A  Theological  Sem- 
inary is  a  School  of  Preachers  whose  work  shall  largely  be 
the  popular  and  persuasive  presentation  of  the  Gospel, 
for  acceptance  —  a  School  of  Pastors  whose  work  shall 
largely  be  ministering  to  sorrowful,  darkened  and  sinful 
souls. 

From  this  point  of  view,  the  makers  of  ministers  must 
ever  keep  in  mind  the  ultimate  object  and  the  use  to 
be  made  of  the  instruction  which  they  give  to  their 
students.  The  great  majority  of  their  students  will 
preach  and  do  the  work  of  the  pastor.  Perhaps  one  in 
fifty,  or  one  in  a  hundred,  will  become  a  technical 
scholar. 


Charge.  xix 

Seminary  lectures  should  furnish  the  students  with 
preacJiable  knowledge.  At  least,  side  hints  should  be 
thrown  out  concerning  the  practical  bearing  of  all  theo- 
logical truth  and  the  use  to  be  made  of  it  in  the  pulpit. 
It  is  not  the  function  of  the  Homiletic  Chair  alone  to 
train  the  preacher — although  it  is  the  principal  function 
of  that  Chair.  The  eight  Chairs  of  the  Seminary, 
and  the  adjunct  instruction  also,  must  all  promote  the 
training  of  preachers.  Not  seven-eighths  of  the  teaching 
force  for  scholarship,  pure  and  simple,  and  one-eighth  for 
preaching,  but  scholarly  preaching  the  aim  of  the  one- 
eighth  and  the  seven-eighths  of  the  teaching  force — this 
is  the  true  conception.  Scholarly  students  often  stumble 
about,  for  a  considerable  time  in  post-seminary  years, 
never  having  learned  how  to  preach  what  they  have 
acquired.  Perhaps  this  is  most  largely  due  to  the  make- 
up of  their  own  minds,  but  some  unmaking  of  the  man 
must  be  done  before  the  true  making  of  the  minister  can 
be  accomplished,  and  every  part  of  the  man's  mind  must 
be  touched  and  influenced  during  his  student  days.  All 
his  learning  should  fashion  his  mind  toward  his  distinctive 
work,  so  that  there  will  be  no  loss  of  truth  as  it  flows 
through  the  channel  of  his  thoughts  and  utterances  to 
other  minds.  Masters  in  Biblical  knowledge  must  help 
beginners  toward  the  best  use  of  what  they  acquire  in 
the  classroom  and  in  the  study.  A  few  simple  sugges- 
tions concerning  the  part  a  particular  piece  of  prophecy, 
or  bit  of  history,  a  doctrine,  a  fact,  may  have  in  a  ser- 
mon, will  give  immense  interest  to  the  knowledge  that 
has  been,  or  is  about  to  be,  imparted  from  the  professor's 
chair.  Scholarship  can  well  afford  to  pause  for  a  mo- 
ment's thought  concerning  practical  good  to  be  accom- 
plished. 

No  Chair,  save  the  Homiletic,  is  more  closely  related 
to    the    preacher's   immediate    work   than    the    two    Old 


XX  Charge. 

Testament  Chairs.  The  prophetic  office  was  essentiall}' 
pulpit  ministration.  Not  from  Apostolic  days  only,  buV 
from  Prophetic  days  —  and  from  the  earliest  of  Prophetic 
days — "it  has  pleased  God  by  the  foolishness  of  preach- 
ing to  save  them  that  believe."  The  Church  needs,  and 
the  world  desires,  more  than  ever  before,  scholarly 
preachers.  Scholarship  consecrated  to  God's  service, 
and  anointed  with  heavenly  unction,  is  the  strength  of 
the  pulpit.  But  the  scholarship  of  a  preacher  that  does 
not  put  power  into  his  preaching  is,  comparatively,  of 
little  practical  use  to  the  great  Master  of  men. 

The    Princeton   professor  will    influence   and   mould  - 
the  public  most  largely  through  Princeton  preachers. 

I  am  sure  I  do  not  overstate  the  importance  of  this 
conception  of  the  work  of  the  entire  Theological  Fac- 
ulty. The  design  of  the  Seminary  is  published  each  year 
in  the  annual  catalogue.  And  in  this  design  and  aim  of 
the  Seminary,  as  every  one  familiar  with  it  knows  full 
well,  the  preacher's  actual  work  is  made  preeminent  by 
strong  statement,  full  expression,  repetition,  and  the  use  of 
italics. 

A  third  idea  is  also  to  be  cherished. 

Scholarship,  —  scholarship  undergirding  and  equip- 
ping the  preacher  for  his  work, — is  impotent  to  accomplish 
spiritual  ends  without  the  touch  of  Divine  power.  The 
Theological  Professor  must  seek  to  bring  his  students 
into  harmony  with  the  mind  of  the  Spirit,  and  into  com- 
plete surrender  to  the  service  of  the  Lord  and  Master. 
Influence  by  character,  example,  prayer  or  exhortation  is 
often  the  mightiest  power  that  goes  forth  from  professor 
to  student.  And  when  the  man  of  learning  humbly 
acknowledges  his  entire  dependence,  for  the  understand- 
ing of  heavenly  mysteries,  and  for  the  ability  to  do  the 
will  of  God,  upon  the  promised  and  bestowed  help  of 
the  Spirit  of  God,  he  impresses  his   students  with   the 


Charge.  xxi 

necessity  for  their  constant  contact  with  the  source  of  all 
spiritual  knowedge  and  all  spiritual  power,  as  this  essen- 
tial, vital  relation  could  not  otherwise  be  set  forth. 

In  that  most  beautiful  building  of  our  Country,  con- 
taining a  vast  multitude  of  treasures  of  world-wide  and 
age-long  learning — the  Library  of  Congress  at  Washing- 
ton— the  entire  scheme  of  interior  decoration,  which  is  so 
elaborate,  culminates  in  the  rotunda  and  in  the  ceiling 
of  the  lantern  of  the  lofty  dome.  Below  the  lantern,  the 
collar  of  the  dome  is  decorated  with  twelve  colossal 
figures  representing  the  twelve  countries  which  have 
contributed  most  to  the  development  of  our  present  day 
civilization  —  Egypt  typifying  Written  Records;  Judea, 
Religion;  Greece,  Philosophy;  Rome,  Administration; 
Islam,  Physics;  The  Middle  Ages,  Modern  Languages; 
Italy,  the  Fine  Arts;  Germany,  the  Art  of  Printing; 
Spain,  Discovery;  England,  Literature;  France,  Emanci- 
pation; and  America,  Science.  The  ceiling  of  the  lantern 
is  sky  and  air,  against  which,  as  a  background,  floats  a 
beautiful  female  figure,  representing  the  Human  Under- 
standing, lifting  her  veil  and  looking  upward,  beyond  all  the 
books  beneath,  away  from  all  the  intellectual  accomplish- 
ments of  the  race,  to  the  infinite,  the  eternal  world, 
whence  all  true  enlightenment  must  come.  It  is  a  con- 
fession in  art  that  learning  and  labor,  with  all  their  mar- 
vellous achievements,  have  not  satisfied,  and  cannot 
satisfy,  the  immortal  spirit  of  man,  still  eager  to  know, 
to  attain. 

Is  not  this  the  very  confession  that  the  servant  of 
the  Lord  humbly  and  gladly  makes  at  the  beginning 
of  his  work  ?  And  will  it  not  be,  with  this  thought 
uppermost  in  your  mind  and  most  deeply  written  in  your 
heart,  that  you  will  assume  the  sacred  task  committed  to 
your  hands,  to-day?  Ever  acknowledging  your  depend- 
ence upon   the  God  of    truth,  you  will,  by  precept  and 


xxii  Charge. 

example,  teach  your  students  steadfastly  to  seek  the  same 
sure  source  of  that  wisdom  which  is  "first  pure,  then 
peaceable,  gentle,  easy  to  be  entreated,  full  of  mercy  and 
good  fruits,  without  variance  and  without  hypocrisy," 
because  it  is   '•'■the  wisdom,  from  above.'' 

May  the  blessing  of  God  the  Father,  the  Son  and  the 
Holy  Ghost  be  upon  you,  in  body,  soul  and  spirit,  and 
may  your  work  for  your  Lord  and  Master,  and  for  His 
Holy  Church,  stand  the  test  both  of  this  present  time 
and  of  eternity ! 


THE  LOWER  CRITICISM  OF  THE  OLD 
TESTAMENT  AS  A  PREPARATION  FOR 
THE  HIGHER  CRITICISM. 

INAUGURAL  ADDRESS 


THE  REV.   ROBERT  DICK  WILSON,   PH.D.,   D.D. 


INAUGURAL  ADDRESS. 


Mr.    President   and   Gentlemen   of   the   Board   of 
Directors: 

Let  me  thank  you  for  the  great  honor  which  you  have 
conferred  upon  me  in  calling  me  to  take  a  part  in  the  suc- 
cession to  the  labors  of  those  illustrious  men  who,  in  their 
day,  made  the  name  of  Princeton  known  and  revered 
throughout  the  world,  and  whose  memory  still  is  blessed. 
May  the  portion  of  their  mantle  which  has  fallen  upon 
me,  cause  me  to  be  filled  with  the  same  spirit  which  was 
in  them,  and  make  me  worthy  of  a  place  among  my 
learned  and  distinguished  confreres  in  the  present  faculty 
of  this  mother  of  Presbyterian  Seminaries. 

It  gives  me  especial  pleasure  and  comfort,  in  leav- 
ing a  city  which  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  has 
been  my  home,  to  see  among  you  here  so  many  of  the  old 
familiar  faces  of  those  who  in  College  and  Seminary  were 
my  professors  or  fellow  students,  and  to  receive  a  charge 
from  one  whom  I  have  always  deemed  one  of  the  dearest 
of  my  Seminary  friends. 

Will  you  pardon  me  for  expressing  the  hope  that 
those  of  you  who  have  known  me  for  so  many  years  and 
yet  have  esteemed  me  fitted  for  this  place,  may  never  be 
disappointed  in  your  choice. 

Before  discussing  the  subject  which  I  have  chosen 
for  my  inaugural  address,  a  few  definitions  may  be  neces- 
sary. By  Lower  Criticism  I  mean  grammar,  lexicogra- 
phy and  textual  criticism ;  by  Higher  Criticism,  any  liter- 
ary criticism  of  the  text  or  any  systematic  statements  of 
truth,   which   may   be   derived   from   the  purest  possible 


4  The  Lower  Criticism  of  the  Old  Testament 

text,  in  strict  accordance  with  the  rules  of  grammar  and 
the  most  probable  results  of  lexicography.  Following  these 
definitions,  we  restate  the  theme  of  our  discourse  as  fol- 
lows: A  thorough  knowledge  of  the  principles  of  gram- 
mar, lexicography  and  textual  criticism  is  necessary  as  a 
preparation  for  the  critical  study  of  the  Scriptures  along 
any  line  of  thought,  literary,  historical  or  theological. 

Before  passing  to  the  discussion  of  our  subject,  let 
us  remark  that  the  three  branches  of  Lower  Criticism  are 
not  mutually  exclusive  nor  logically  distinct.  Indeed,  there 
is  a  sense  in  which  both  lexicography  and  textual  criticism 
may  be  looked  upon  as  parts  of  grammar,  while  on  the 
other  hand,  no  part  of  grammar  or  lexicography  can  be 
considered  without  reference  to  the  criticism  of  the  text. 

After  these  preliminary  remarks  by  way  of  defini- 
tion and  limitation,  I  proceed  to  the  discussion  of  the 
kind  and  amount  of  lower  criticism  which  are  demanded 
by  the  times,  and  which  it  shall  be  the  endeavor  of  the 
incumbent  of  the  Chair  of  Semitic  Philology  and  Old 
Testament  Criticism  to  impart.  The  first  department  of 
Lower  Criticism  is  that  which  is  commonly  called  gram- 
mar. For  convenience  of  treatment  Hebrew  Grammar 
may  be  divided  into  three  parts,  Phonics,  Graphics  and 
Morphics,  or  sounds,  signs  and  forms.  The  study  of 
sounds,  in  their  relation  to  Higher  Criticism,  is  import- 
ant only  because  of  its  bearing  upon  the  derivation  and 
the  variations  of  the  forms  of  words,  and  upon  the  errors 
of  text  arising  from  the  confusion  of  consonants  of  simi- 
lar sound.  The  study  of  Graphics,  especially  in  MSS. 
and  in  palaeography,  is  necessary  in  order  to  understand 
the  transmission  of  the  text,  and  in  particular  the  varia- 
tions arising  from  mistakes  in  reading  letters  which,  at 
some  time,  have  been  similar  in  form.  And  when  we 
come  to  the  first  part  of  Morphics,  which  is  commonly 
called  etymology,  it  is  not  sufficient  to  study  the  forms 


As  a  Preparation  for  the  Higher  Criticism.  5 

of  words  as  they  are  embodied  in  the  traditional  punctua- 
tion of  the  Massoretes.  The  origin  of  the  sounds  back 
of  the  written  forms,  the  inflection  and  meaning  of  the 
forms,  the  ability  to  change  forms  in  accordance  with  the 
demands  of  exegesis,  this  must  be  thoroughly  learned 
before  one  is  prepared  to  advance  with  steady  tread  by 
the  paths  of  syntax  and  textual  criticism  to  the  higher 
regions  of  history,  theology  and  literary  criticism.  But 
if  the  origin,  inflection  and  meaning  of  single  words  is 
indispensable,  what  shall  we  say  of  the  more  complex 
forms  of  syntax  ?  You  will  agree  with  me,  that  this  is 
one  of  the  most  difficult  tasks  in  the  learning  of  any 
language.  You  will  agree  with  me,  further,  in  my  belief 
that  no  part  of  a  theological  education  was  formerly 
more  neglected  than  the  study  of  Hebrew  Syntax.  In 
fact,  it  was  scarcely  taught  at  all  in  our  theological  sem- 
inaries a  generation  ago.  If  you  will  look  at  an  old 
Hebrew  grammar,  you  will  find  that  very  little  space  is 
given  to  it.  One  was  expected  to  know  it  by  intuition, 
or  to  pick  it  up.  The  advance  in  the  importance  attrib- 
uted to  a  special  knowledge  of  Hebrew  syntax,  may  be 
gauged  by  comparing  the  different  editions  of  Gesenius' 
Grammar  which  have  appeared  in  the  last  fifty  years,  or 
the  translation  of  Conant  with  the  last  editions  of  the 
English  version  of  Kautzsch's  Gesenius.  We  are  con- 
vinced that  the  reason  why  so  many  of  our  ministers 
have  neglected  the  independent  exegesis  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament, has  been  that  they  were  ignorant  of  syntax. 
Certainly  no  one  acquainted  with  the  subject  would 
suppose  for  an  instant  that  a  knowledge  of  that  difficult 
and  varied  instrument  for  the  expression  of  thought, 
the  Semitic  verb,  could  be  gained  otherwise  than  by 
thorough  and  protracted  study.  The  Hebrew  imperfect 
is  as  varied  in  its  usage  as  the  Greek  Aorist,  the  Hebrew 
genitive  and  article  as  the  Greek,  and  the  exegete  who 


6  The  Lower  Criticism  of  the  Old  Testament 

attempts  to  expound  the  Old  Testament,  without  being 
master  of  these,  is  just  as  insensible  to  the  requirements 
of  the  case  as  is  he  who  would  try  in  like  ignorance  to 
expound  the  Greek  of  the  New. 

The  second  division  of  Lower  Criticism  is  lexicog- 
raphy, the  science  or  art  of  determining  the  meaning  of 
words.  By  most  students  of  the  Old  Testament,  this 
department  of  research  is  given  over  entirely  to  the  dic- 
tionary makers.  What  appears  in  a  standard  current 
dictionary  is  considered  final  and  decisive.  I  remember 
that  when  I  was  in  the  Seminary  two  great  theologians 
carried  on  an  important  discussion,  which  depended  upon 
the  meaning  of  a  single  word,  and  neither  of  them  thought 
it  necessary  to  appeal  to  other  authorities  than  the  Eng- 
lish edition  of  Gesenius.  Who  was  Gesenius,  that  our 
Presbyterian  ministers  and  professors  should  appeal  to 
his  dictionary  as  the  final  court  in  linguistic  matters  ? 
Should  a  rationalist  of  his  type,  whose  opinions  in 
Higher  Criticism  would  be  rejected  as  untenable,  shall 
the  work  of  such  a  man  be  accepted  as  the  standard  in 
the  field  of  lexicography  ?  Do  a  man's  views  of  God 
not  enter  into  his  definition  of  miracles  and  prophecy 
and  holiness  and  sin  ?  Those  of  you  who  are  conversant 
with  Gesenius'  dictionary  will  remember  the  frequently 
recurring  note:  See  my  Commentary  on  Isaiah,  in  loco; 
and  there  we  find  the  discussion  of  the  reasons  for  defin- 
ing the  word  as  it  is  given  in  the  dictionary.  In  short,  a 
dictionary  is  but  the  dicta  of  the  writer  on  the  words 
defined.  The  exegete  should  be  prepared  to  go  back  of 
the  dictionary  so  as  to  examine  the  reasons  for  the  defini- 
tion. As  my  learned  colleague,  in  his  masterly  review  of 
the  meaning  of  the  word  OeoTrveva-To^  (inspired),  so  every 
searcher  after  truth  should,  so  far  as  possible,  be  prepared 
to  search  out  the  meaning  of  any  disputed  term  and  to 
thoroughly  investigate  his  premises  before  arriving  at  a 


As  a  Preparation  for  the  Higher  Criticism.  7 

conclusion.  But  it  is  a  pertinent  question  here  to  ask, 
whether  this  is  ever  in  the  range  of  possibility  for  the  ordi- 
nary theological  student?  To  which  I  answer:  Yes;  in 
large  part. 

Every  theological  student  learns  enough  Hebrew  to 
use  a  concordance.  Now,  a  concordance  of  a  language  like 
the  ancient  Hebrew,  whose  entire  literature  is  found  in  a 
single  book,  gives  a  comprehensive  survey  of  the  usage 
ot  a  given  word.  If  the  construction  in  which  the  word 
occurs  is  always  exactly  the  same,  little  information  can 
be  gained  in  this  way ;  but  if  the  word  is  of  frequent 
occurrence,  and  is  found  in  several  or  many  different  con- 
nections, a  tolerably  accurate  definition  of  most  words 
may  be  made  without  further  help  than  a  concordance. 
If  there  is  profit  in  using  Cruden's  and  Young's  con- 
cordances in  the  explication  of  a  text,  much  more  might 
one  argue  the  utility  of  using  those  in  the  original  lan- 
guages in  which  the  Word  of  God  was  written,  as  "  The 
final  appeal  in  all  questions  of  faith  and  practice."  The 
Greek  and  Hebrew  concordances  are  the  airbrakes  on 
hasty  conclusions,  the  safety-valves  of  the  Church  against 
the  rash  judgments  of  professional  dictators  or  ignorant 
enthusiasts. 

A  second  aid  which  the  ordinary  student  may  find 
in  determining  the  meaning  of  words,  is  that  to  be 
derived  from  the  meaning  of  forms.  If  it  be  true 
that  forms  have  meaning,  then  a  knowledge  of  the  usual 
meaning  of  these  forms  will  enable  the  student  to  demand 
that  the  lexicon  shall  give  a  sufficient  reason  for  any 
departure  from  the  customary  meaning  of  a  form. 

A  third  aid  which  the  ordinary  student  can  use  in  the 
control  of  the  dictionary  is  to  be  found  in  the  ancient  ver- 
sions into  Greek  and  Latin.  These  versions  are  fortu- 
nately within  the  reach  of  all,  and  their  daily  use  in  the 
interpretation  of  the  original   is  to   be   most  highly  com- 


8  The  Lower  Criticism  of  the  Old  Testament 

mended.  It  will  not  merely  keep  up  and  increase  a 
knowledge  of  those  languages  upon  which  so  much  time 
has  been  expended,  but  it  will  certainly  call  attention  to 
matters  of  grammar  and  exegesis  which  would  otherwise 
be  entirely  overlooked.  But  as  to  the  point  in  question, 
it  will  be  immediately  perceived  that  when  there  is  a  dif- 
ference between  one  or  more  of  the  ancient  versions  and 
the  lexicon  as  to  the  meaning  of  a  word,  that  there  is  a 
subject  worthy  of  the  investigation  of  the  exegete.  To 
my  mind  no  better  method  for  mastering  the  ancient  He- 
brew, and  at  the  same  time  for  retaining  and  perfecting 
our  knowledge  of  the  classics, can  be  found  than  the  study 
of  the  ancient  versions  in  connection  with  the  original 
text,  discovering  and  seeking  to  explain  every  slightest 
variation  of  thought  or  expression.  As  tests  of  diction- 
aries and  suggesters  of  new  ideas  they  are  invaluable  and 
unsurpassed.  While  ordinary  students  must  remain  satis- 
fied with  the  study  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  versions,  the 
extraordinary  student  will  acquire  Syriac  and  Aramaic  in 
order  to  make  use  of  the  other  great  primary  versions, 
that  he  may  derive  a  full  benefit  from  these  great  master- 
pieces of  interpretation  of  the  word  of  God  which  have 
been  handed  down  from  antiquity. 

A  fourth  aid  in  the  control  of  lexicons  is  not  open  to 
the  ordinary  student.  It  is  that  to  be  derived  from  the 
cognate  languages.  Its  value  in  correcting  the  errors  of 
citation  and  logic  on  the  part  of  lexicographers  can 
scarcely  be  overestimated.  I  shall  never  forget  the  shock 
which  went  through  my  frame  when  upon  looking  at  an 
Arabic  dictionary  in  confirmation  of  a  statement  made  by 
that  imperial  scholar,  Ewald,  with  regard  to  the  meaning 
of  a  word,  I  found  the  facts  to  be  the  very  opposite  to 
that  which  he  had  stated  to  be  the  case.  It  caused  a  rev- 
olution in  my  methods;  I  have  never  since  accepted  the 
references  to  the  cognate  languages  in  the  commentaries 


As  a  Preparation  for  the  Higher  Criticism.  9 

and  dictionaries  without  first  making  an  investigation 
for  myself,  and  even  then  often  with  the  admission  to  my- 
self that  the  inductions  of  meanings  in  the  dictionaries  at 
hand  may  be  incomplete  or  misunderstood.  Some  of  the 
commentaries  and  lexicons  cannot  be  comprehended  with- 
out a  partial  knowledge  of  Arabic  and  Syriac  at  least. 
Would  that  every  one  who  had  the  opportunity  of  per- 
fecting himself  in  the  use  of  all  the  means  which  God  has 
given  us  for  ascertaining  with  as  much  fulness  as  possible 
the  meaning  of  ever}^  word  which  the  Holy  Scriptures 
contain  would  avail  himself  of  the  advantages  which  this 
institution  may  afford  of  learning  these  sister  tongues  of 
the  inspired. 

The  third  department  of  Lower  Criticism  is  Textual 
Criticism,  the  purpose  of  which  is  to  discover  the  original 
text.  One  would  suppose  that  the  first  endeavor  of  all 
students  of  the  Bible  would  be  to  discover  the  very  words 
which  were  written  through  the  inspiration  of  God.  It  is 
only  lately,  however,  that  any  critical  apparatus,  approx- 
imating in  any  suitable  degree  what  it  should  be,  has  been 
prepared.  The  publication  of  the  Polychrome  edition  of 
the  Hebrew  bible  and  the  amount  of  textual  changes  sug- 
gested in  many  of  the  latest  commentaries,  such  as  Klos- 
termann's,  and  in  religious  magazines,  like  the  Expository 
Times,  have  rendered  it  necessary  for  the  intelligent  and 
conscientious  reader  to  gain  as  good  as  possible  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  correct  principles  of  Old  Testament  textual 
criticism.  While  Old  Testament  books  are  costly,  every 
man  can  have  at  least  one  polyglot  which  will  give  most 
of  the  data  upon  which  the  conclusions  of  the  critics  are 
based.  As  to  the  methods  of  textual  criticism,  this  is 
neither  the  time  nor  the  place  to  enter  into  a  full  state- 
ment of  what  they  are.  Let  it  suffice  to  say  that  they 
should  be  objective  rather  than  subjective.  The  purpose 
of  the  critic  should   be   to  find  out  what  the  author  said. 


lO  The  Lower  Criticism  of  the  Old  Testament 

not  what  he  would  like  him  to  have  said,  nor  what  he 
thinks  he  ought  to  have  said.  Such  a  method,  moreover, 
must  be  scientific,  i.  e.,  it  must  seek  to  secure  a  complete 
induction  of  the  facts  without  selection  or  exclusion, 
because  of  preconceived  opinions  or  tendency  theories  of 
any  kind  whatsoever.  What  the  men  of  God  wrote,  that 
is  the  task  of  the  critic  to  discover  and  to  pass  on  to  the 
exegete,  the  historian  and  the  theologian,  that  they  may 
have  correct  premises  on  which  to  base  the  conclusions  in 
their  commentaries,  histories  and  theologies. 

Here  let  me  guard  against  two  common  misconcep- 
tions. One  is  the  supposition  that  the  Hebrew  original 
of  the  Old  Testament  has  been  so  preserved  as  to  render 
all  revision  objectless.  No  one  can  hold  such  a  theory 
in  view  of  the  evidences  of  the  Hebrew  MSS.  and  the 
parallel  passages  alone.  No  more  will  any  one  who  ac- 
cepts the  evidences  of  the  New  Testament  quotations  in 
their  bearing  upon  the  text  of  the  Old,  and  who  recognizes 
the  need  for  a  revision  of  the  New  Testament,  have  a  loctis 
standi  in  defending  the  impeccability  of  the  text  of  the  Old. 

The  other  error  is  that  the  ancient  translators  or  the 
later  revisers  of  their  versions  were  so  characterized  by 
prejudices  and  tendencies  that  their  translations  were 
intentionally  inaccurate  and  biased  from  the  start,  so  as 
to  render  them  largely  useless  in  enabling  us  to  re-estab- 
lish any  original  Hebrew  text.  In  answer  to  this  it  may 
be  said  that  (except  in  isolated  instances  and  books)  no 
sufficient  proof  of  these  intentional  variations  from  the 
original  has  as  yet  been  produced.  My  own  conviction 
is  (and  this  is  a  conviction  based  upon  a  more  or  less  ex- 
tensive study  of  all  the  versions), that  all  of  them,  primary 
and  secondary,  by  whomsoever  made,  bear  undeniable 
evidence  of  having  been  designed  to  be  faithful  to  their 
original.  Had  we  the  original  texts  of  the  versions,  we 
could  doubtless,  with  the  aid  of  the  Hebrew  textiis  recepttis, 


As  a  Preparation  for  the  Higher  Criticism.  1 1 

reconstruct  in  most  instances  the  originals  from  which 
they  were  translated.  As  it  is,  the  first  question  to  be 
asked  when  we  find  a  variation  in  a  version  is,  why  this 
variation?  Was  the  original  of  it  different  from  the  textus 
rcceptiis?  Did  the  translators  misunderstand  the  original? 
Do  we  misunderstand  either  the  original  or  the  transla- 
tion, or  is  either  one  or  other  text  corrupt?  It  will  be 
seen  that  before  one  is  fitted  to  answer  these  questions 
with  anything  like  accuracy,  he  must  be  acquainted  with 
all  the  departments  of  grammar  and  lexicography  men- 
tioned above.  Phonics,  palaeography,  the  concordances, 
versions  and  cognates  will  all  contribute  their  portion 
toward  the  settlement  of  every  question  of  text.  The 
failure  to  use  any  one  of  these  factors  may  cause  an  error 
in  the  result. 

Such,  then,  are  the  three  great  divisions  of  Lower 
Criticism — text,  grammar,  lexicon — and  knowledge  of  all 
three  is  indispensable  to  any  one  who  will  rightly  divide 
the  Word  of  Truth.  A  correct  view  of  the  possibilities 
and  attainments  of  textual  criticism,  a  thorough  know- 
ledge of  all  the  parts  of  grammar,  an  intelligent  control 
of  lexicography  —  these  must  be  the  possession  of  him 
who  would  understand  the  biblical  literature  of  the  day  ; 
these  give  the  logical  premises  for  all  conclusions  based 
upon  the  Word  of  God.  These  are  the  foundations  upon 
which  are  to  be  built  the  statel}'  structure  of  literary 
criticism,  history  and  theology. 

We  shall  seek  to  lay  the  foundations  deep  and  broad 
and  firm  in  the  minds  of  our  students,  that  all  men  may 
admire  the  uprightness  and  strength  and  beauty  of  the 
superstructures  which  they  shall  build. 

You  will  all  have  noticed  that  throughout  this  dis- 
course I  have  emphasized  the  study  of  the  cognates,  and 
of  the  primary  versions,  at  least,  for  those  who  would 
fully  master  the  details  of  Lower  Criticism.      Only  after 


12  The  Loiver  Criticism  of  the  Old  Testament. 

having  learned  these  will  they  be  fully  furnished  for  the 
more  attractive  but  not  more  important  work  of  Higher 
Criticism.  Not  forgetting  that  the  primary  object  of  the 
Theological  Seminary  is  to  train  men  for  the  Gospel  min- 
istry, I  should  like  to  see  Princeton,  and  I  think  that  the 
Church  would  like  to  see  Princeton,  offer  to  young  men 
of  the  Presb)^terian  faith  facilities  for  the  acquisition  of 
any  branch  of  knowledge  that  will  help  them  to  discover 
and  defend,  in  its  full  meaning,  every  word  of  God.  It 
shall  be  my  aim  and  ambition,  with  the  hoped  for  hearty 
aid  of  the  faculty  and  directors  of  this  institution,  and  of 
our  Ahna  Mater  across  the  way,  to  present  to  every 
student  the  opportunity  of  acquiring  any  language  which, 
as  cognate  to  the  Hebrew,  throws  light  upon  its  gram- 
mar and  lexicon,  or  any  language  in  which  a  version  of 
the  Bible  was  made  before  the  Sixth  Centur}^  A.  D. 
Some  of  my  fellow  professors  have  kindly  offered  to 
assist  in  this  plan,  which  is  only  an  extension  of  what  has 
hitherto  been  offered.  With  the  assistance  which  the 
University  can  render,  and  which  we  are  happy  to  believe 
it  will  be  glad  to  render,  we  hope  that  soon  it  will  not  be 
necessary  for  any  of  our  students  to  go  abroad  to  perfect 
themselves  in  any  branch  of  theological  science. 

In  ni}^  plans  for  the  offering  of  increased  facilities  for 
the  more  thorough  understanding  of  the  Old  Testament, 
I  have  projected  a  number  of  works  and  series  of  works 
which  seem  necessary  to  fill  out  the  apparatus  criticiis. 
In  the  completing  of  these  works,  I  shall  invoke  the 
assistance  of  the  students  whom  I  expect  to  train,  the 
advice  of  my  fellow  professors,  and,  when  needed,  the 
financial  aid  of  the  friends  of  this  Seminary. 

And  may  God  grant  His  grace  and  His  strength  that 
all  our  labors  may  be  well  done  and  fully  done,  to  the 
increase  of  knowledge  and  faith, to  the  honor  of  His  Word 
and  the  tjlorv  of  His  name. 


m 


